The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) welcomed the appointment of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy, following the sudden and unprecedented resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Foundation leaders expressed hope that the Catholic Church, under Pope Francis I, as he will be called, will respect and privilege pluralism and interfaith relations, based on earlier efforts […]
First US Congressional Leader to Take Oath on Bhagavad Gita
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) welcomed the inauguration of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the first Hindu elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Gabbard took her oath on the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text, as she joined the 113th Congressional class. Gabbard said the copy she chose for her swearing in ceremony was one […]
Increasing Concern Over Worsening Plight of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs
(CHAKRA) The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) voiced serious concern today over the worsening plight of Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan, imploring the Afghan government to address the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in the country. The most recent media reports from Afghanistan indicate that Hindus and Sikhs are being forcibly denied the right to cremate their […]
HAF Letter to Pakistan Embassy Asks for Restoration of Demolished Temple
(CHAKRA) In the wake of Pakistan’s recent election to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the international body tasked with the “promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe,” a century-old Hindu temple was destroyed in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) formally wrote to the Pakistani […]
HAF Partners with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to Assist Bhutanese Hindus
(CHAKRA) Hindu American Foundation (HAF) announced the formation of a partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier today, as part of a joint project to serve the medical needs of Bhutanese Hindu refugees in Nepal. The protracted refugee crisis originated during the 1990’s, when Bhutan forcibly expelled more than 100,000 minority […]
1st Hindu in United States Congress Elected and Hails from Hawaii
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) celebrated a historic election day as Tulsi Gabbard overwhelmingly prevailed to claim a congressional seat in the Second Congressional District of Hawaii. A Democrat, Gabbard will enter the U.S. House of Representatives as the first Hindu-American legislator nearly a half-century after Dalip Singh Saund, a Sikh, served in the same […]
Persecution of Hindu, Christian & Other Minority Women in Pakistan Highlighted at Capitol Hill
In light of the recent tragic cases of Rimsha Masih, a fourteen year-old disabled Christian girl imprisoned under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, and Rinkle Kumari, a nineteen year-old Hindu girl kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) hosted a Capitol Hill Briefing last week to highlight the persecution of minority women in […]
HAF Announces 4th Annual American Hindu Youth Essay Competition
(CHAKRA) HAF announces its fourth annual NextGen Essay Contest, open to writers ages 14 through 27. As HAF continues its efforts to build a progressive Hindu American voice, it is also working to ensure the voices of future Hindu American leaders are heard. The NextGen Essay Contest was established in 2009 to engage the youth […]
US Documentary Tour Launched to Promote Pakistani Hindu Refugees
(CHAKRA) “We won’t go back. Even if you shoot us we won’t go back,” cried out an elderly Pakistani Hindu woman living in the Dera Dhuni Baba refugee camp in the Indian capital of New Delhi. Her tragic story, along with those of 150 other Hindus from Pakistan’s Sindh province, was recently captured by Indian […]
Human Rights Report Released Amidst Worsening Plight of Minorities In Pakistan
(CHAKRA) HAF (Hindu American Foundation) released its eighth annual Hindu human rights report today amidst increased concern over the worsening plight of Hindus in Pakistan. The report, Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights, 2011, documents human rights violations against Hindus in Pakistan as well as seven other countries and regions […]